Beer. Lager. Ale.
The most popular alcoholic beverage of choice around the world.
And why wouldn’t it be?
With a lot, and we mean a lot, of different varieties available from light to dark and low to high alcohol content, there is a choice to meet every taste and style, and at 4Ts Brewery we’re pleased to offer it all.
But how well do you know the process behind why your craft beer tastes so good, how to brew beer, and where it actually comes from?
Process of brewing beer
Brewing is both an art and a science.
Every brewer has roughly the same brewing process, and we say roughly because there are varying elements throughout the brewing process that can be changed depending on the type of ale or lager being produced.
The three main types of brewing include:
Extract brewing – this process uses extracts from grains to form the base of the beer – the wort.
Partial mash uses malt extract and grain, increasing the possibilities for beer flavour, body, appearance, and quality.
All-grain brewing is the purest form of brewing beer, as the sugars are pulled from the grain. However, it does require more equipment and a more experienced brewer.
The brewing process of beer
The main ingredients for beer include:
- Water
- Malt
- Hop
- Yeast
Beer brewing starts in the malt house with your raw ingredients:
- Barley/wheat/Oats/Rye
Malting and Milling
Starting with the grain, the grain must be malted to provide you with a germinated grain that can then be dried and heated in a kiln, preparing it for the mashing process.
Note: Different types of grain are available for use to make a variety of tastes.
As part of the milling process, grains are crushed to expose the starch and release enzymes, preparing them for the next stage.
Mashing
This process helps activate the grain’s enzymes and change starch to sugar.
Malt is combined with grist and water, and then heated to between 100-170 degrees Fahrenheit (most brewers use steam to heat the malt).
Note: The heating process and the temperature chosen is individual and the decision of each brewer.
Mashing is an important part of the process as it helps the starch in the malt to convert to sugar and then eventually alcohol.
There are two different types of mashing: infusion and decoction.
Infusion mashing involves heating the grains in a mash tun (or similar vessel).
In contrast, decoction mashing is where only some of the mash is transferred to the tun and then boiled in a separate vessel. Once the brewer is happy it will then be added back into the original mash, to create the next step. Wort.
Lautering
The beer brewing process that separates wort from grain.
Lautering involves three separate processes:
Mashout – heating the wort to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recirculating – loose grain particles are filtered out leaving you with a clear wort make-up .
Sparging involves rinsing spent grain using heated water, allowing you to get the remaining sugars.
Boiling
Then comes the hot part…
Once you have the wort, it must then be sterilised through the boiling process, encouraging a condensing of the liquid and destroying any remaining unwanted enzymes.
At this stage, hops are also used to add the taste, the level of bitterness, and the aroma to the beer.
Whirlpooling
Not every brewer will use whirlpooling, but it is a technique to be aware of.
Whirlpooling removes the protein from the liquid.
Fermentation
Fermentation is a big part of how to make beer. It is the stage that involves adding yeast to convert the sugars to alcohol.
Note: yeast will rise to the top of the wort (high fermentation) for ale. For lager, yeast collects at the bottom (low fermentation).
Once the yeast has been added, the brewer must maintain a set temperature to maintain the quality of the product.
Typically, this is set at 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit for ale and 50 degrees for lager.
Conditioning
The liquid is left to mature and smooth as part of the beer brew process.
Once left to settle, the liquid will then be transferred to cold storage, where it will remain for between 1 to 6 weeks.
Packaging
This is the stage where you can opt for bottling, or if you’re looking for beer kegs Warrington, please get in touch with a member of our team.
This is also the stage where carbonation happens, and CO2 is added to the containers under high pressure, forcing the CO2 into the beer.
Beer Brewing
- All equipment must be clean
- Work to exact measurements throughout each beer processing stage
- Calculate the beer alcohol content by checking and measuring the gravity of the wort using a hydrometer
Beers in Warrington
At 4Ts Brewery we traditionally brew a range of beers with great craftsmanship. Using quality ingredients guarantees that our beers taste great and have an abundance of style and character.
For beers Warrington, why not visit us to find and taste more?
